Things Not Seen
by djmichealsfics
Summary: Evidence of things not seen is often obtained through experience and observation.


**Title:** Things Not Seen

**Pairing**: Gibbs/DiNozzo

**Rating:** FR15

**Genre:** Angst, Drama, Friendship, a bit of Hurt/Comfort, slight Romance

**Cat:** pre-Slash

**Spoilers:** General spoilers for mentions of things through current season.

**Warnings:** None.

**Summary:** Evidence of things not seen is often obtained through experience and observation.

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings,songs etc. are the property of their respective owners. I only own the plot and the OCs, for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** Written for Taylor based on his first prompt: "Warehouses - In shows and movies we've seen stuff stored in warehouses like the show Warehouse 13. Also the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders of the Lost Ark. What happens when an artifact thought to be locked safely away is used in a case? Is it by the MCRT or criminals? What repercussions could arise?"

**Author's Note 2:** Big, BIG thank you to my beta k8bnimble, without whom this would NEVER have been finished on time, and for her tweaks that helped me write what I wanted to say.

Gibbs pushed the door closed with a soft snick, and wearily sagged against it. He leaned there for a few minutes before gathering himself and making his way upstairs. After all of the noise of the past week - the running, the yelling, the sounds of rounds being fired and people screaming and, then later, the seemingly endless echoes of *bullshit* heard at the after-incident meetings with LEOs, Vance, SecNav, the FBI, and Homeland - the silence of his house was too loud.

In a rare act, Gibbs left his clothes on the floor where he dropped them. He trudged to the shower and turned it on as hot as he could stand. The water soothed his achy, knotted muscles as his mind wandered back over the past few weeks.

Flashback

Gibbs hadn't known why the sound of the distant ding of the elevator stopping on the mezzanine level set his teeth on edge that particular morning, but it had. There had been 'something' about the four men that had gotten off of it that had bothered him. The men had been watchful, obviously wary and on edge. Evidently, they had been guarding someone important because they had carefully blocked the person from view by keeping their bodies between prying eyes and the safety of the wall, and had walked in careful, measured steps towards the Director's office. Gibbs hadn't been able to tell if the individual they were hiding was male or female.

About that time, the MCRT team had gotten the call out on the case from hell that seemed to involve more alphabets than a can of soup and Gibbs had put the mysterious guests out of his mind.

A warehouse at Langley Air Force Base had been apparently broken into, but no one could tell them what had been stolen, when it had been stolen, or who might have stolen it. There had been nothing on the security cameras except a four second glitch.

The fact the team had been met with a small squad of heavily armed Marines who watched their every step to make certain they only went into the area where the item 'may have' been stolen seemed 'hinky'. Marines didn't guard Air Force bases as a general rule.

But Gibbs and crew had performed their usual investigative routine: fingerprints, trace evidence, pictures, etc. All to no avail. The 'Marine' guards had suddenly, and without warning, confiscated their cameras. The memory cards were erased under the excuse of 'Sensitive Material' above their pay grade. Their investigation had been further hampered by the fact that there was ~no~ physical evidence. No fingerprints, no random hair, no scratches on the door, no dust on the shelves where something 'might have been.' There had been nothing to indicate a crime had been committed.

Not only that, they had only been allowed access to certain security tapes. McGee had come up with nothing as most of the security tapes had been of the base in general. The recordings of the specific building they were investigating were from the wrong day or the wrong time. The only recording that existed of the correct time was shot from a camera aimed at the wrong angle - from the back of the building facing towards the outer gates. They had still had nothing.

With every minute that had passed, they had been met with slammed doors, closed avenues, and lost opportunities. Gibbs' frustration had boiled over when they had gotten the bum's rush off of the base by AFOSI. He had had no way to vent because not only was the case screwed, but there had been something off with Tony throughout it. Tony had been going about his job, quietly, professionally, with no side remarks unlike the rest of the team that had taken to lashing out their irritation quite loudly.

End of Flashback

Gibbs wiped the shampoo out of his eyes and sighed. He should have known then that there had been trouble brewing. His gut was usually so accurate but it had let him down. He picked up the soap and lathered the washrag. He was dragging the shower out but he needed to put his thoughts in order. Although he usually lost himself in thoughts while working in the cellar, he had felt the need to wash the last few weeks away. Sanding wasn't going to clean his troubled mind. He slowly ran the washrag over his skin and lost himself to his thoughts again.

He remembered the arrival of a group of 'Security Experts' about two hours after the team returned from their spectacular lack of a case. 'Experts' who had confiscated everything that they ~didn't~ have on the case. In anger, Gibbs had stormed off to Autopsy even as he had vaguely recognized the sound of Tony's phone ringing. He had purposefully ignored it.

"Damn!" Gibbs swore as he acknowledged his momentary lapse of judgment. He punched the shower wall in frustration.

Hindsight is a bitch.

Flashback

When Gibbs had returned from his venting session with Ducky, he had found his Senior Agent missing. At first, he had been irritated, more so considering the day they had had. After thirty minutes he had been angry that Tony hadn't answered his cell. After an hour Gibbs had become furious with Vance when the Senior Agent hadn't returned. Gibbs had known then that something had happened to his man.

He had stormed into Vance's office and discovered that Tony had been loaned to the 'Security Experts' who had appeared earlier. They apparently had needed assistance from someone with undercover experience.

Gibbs had been livid. He was tired of Directors using his agents - particularly DiNozzo - for their own agendas. No one ever asked Gibbs for permission, as if he would ever have given it. He hated when DiNozzo was out there without adequate back-up - meaning Gibbs himself as Gibbs trusted precious few people to be able to keep Tony out of trouble.

"Do they not have any of agents of their own capable of this? What exactly are their people trained for?" Gibbs had yelled at the Director.

Vance had chewed his toothpick calmly. "They are our sister agency and it's prudent to assist them when requested. Smooths future operations. You should be flattered they specifically requested DiNozzo. Speaks highly of our agency."

"Bull, Leon. That's not why you didn't tell me. That's not why you haven't read me into the Op."

Gibbs had known in his gut that they had chosen Tony specifically to fuck with him.

"He's my agent, Gibbs. I decide what he works on." Vance had stared coolly at Gibbs.

And that was the crux of it. Vance had wanted to remind Gibbs who had the power. 'See what I can do, and you can't do anything about it?'

Vance had attempted to placate Gibbs by assuring him Tony would be fine and it was for the best. Gibbs had mostly tuned him out as the anger that had surged through him had created a buzz in his head he couldn't quite hear over.

It had occurred to Gibbs that in all of Vance's talk of 'wonderful spirit of inter-agency cooperation', he had left out the most important facts; what Tony would actually be doing for this so called Security group and why only Tony was qualified for it. For all of Vance's reassurances, he had never said who would have Tony's six and that had concerned Gibbs most of all.

Gibbs had stormed out of his office, but Vance had followed him. He had stopped Gibbs in front of MTAC and looked pointedly at him. "Not your case, Gibbs. Leave it," Vance warned before he had gone into MTAC.

Gibbs hadn't acknowledged Vance. He had been afraid of what he might have said. If Vance had decided to suspend him, then Gibbs wouldn't have had any way to track Tony.

Instead, Gibbs had rushed down to the Bullpen and had McGee track Tony to the best of his ability.

End Flashback

Gibbs sighed deeply as he sat the washrag down. He was done cleaning himself but he couldn't find the energy to get out of the shower so he sat down in the tub and let the water flow over him. He almost hoped the water would run cold. It felt appropriate as he remembered the sinking feeling he had when he had arrived at Tony's apartment where McGee had tracked the cell phone that Tony left on and plugged into the charger. Next to it had been Tony's watch, laptop, and car keys as if Tony was home for the evening - except he was nowhere to be found within the apartment.

Flashback

McGee had accessed the security footage only to discover a four second glitch.

"That's odd," McGee had mused. Then he had begun furiously looking through his iPhone. He had looked back and forth between his phone and the footage.

"What, McGee?!" Gibbs had asked impatiently.

"It's just...after those guys took our notes and left, I tried to remember everything we had learned at the crime scene and wrote it down in my notes app."

Gibbs had looked blankly at McGee but he had been positive that the sense of foreboding he had felt earlier was about to come to fruition.

"It's just that this glitch...it happened at exactly the same time as the missing video glitch at the scene today. I don't think that's a coincidence."

"Ya think?!" Gibbs had almost headslapped McGee but stopped himself. What the Hell had DiNozzo gotten himself into?

McGee had started to go on and on about various signals like EMPs, "That's electromagnetic pulse, Boss. That can affect all kinds of things like..."

Gibbs had left the techspeak wash over him as he had struggled to put the pieces together. Where was his agent?

McGee's voice had broken into his thoughts. "And jammers, "They jam all electronic signals for a specific period."

Well no shit, Gibbs had figured that one out all by himself, and he didn't have a degree from MIT.

They had spent all their time trying to follow-up. Every contact Ziva had known had learned nothing. Every technical trace McGee had found had led nowhere. Abby had found no forensic evidence at Tony's apartment. And Vance had ignored that they were doing anything to interfere with his operation because all they really knew was that whatever had happened at the warehouse, whatever it was that Tony was involved in, it was by order of the Director. Maybe. Vance hadn't stopped them, after all. He just hadn't told them anything.

End Flashback

Gibbs watched the water running over his hands and studied them carefully. It felt as if the hot water was finally running out and he was relieved. He needed to feel as cold on the outside as he did on the inside. He was wallowing but he couldn't help himself.

Flashback

Three days after Tony had gone missing, Fornell had shown up in his basement bitching about Dinutso's undercover assignment screwing up three months of work.

Gibbs had managed to learn enough to horn in on their investigation without Fornell's knowledge. Gibbs' team had sat in a nondescript van staking out the seedy bar not far from where another nondescript van was parked - the one that had belonged to Fornell's team where the FEEBs were obviously waiting for DiNozzo's arrival.

Earlier, Gibbs and Ziva had managed to place microphones and cameras inside the bar in the hopes that they would at least get a glimpse of Tony which would enable them to provide backup if had proved necessary.

By the time they had returned, McGee had done his own special sort of magic and had hacked into the FBI's feed. Even McGee had been impressed with the level of surveillance the FBI had provided.

McGee was busy adjusting various signals to ensure they had the best views. "Why can't we have their equipment budget?"

Gibbs had hated the silence that followed McGee's whining. It had just reminded him that Tony wasn't with them where he belonged.

End Flashback

Gibbs rubbed his eyes as the memories that came afterwards burned into his brain. He had both been relieved to see DiNozzo again and in one piece and nauseous that Tony had been sent out into this alone - FBI agents that were hiding too far away in a van notwithstanding. He stared at the water as it swirled around the drain and felt an odd kinship with it. He couldn't help himself from letting his thoughts going around in circles endlessly.

Flashback

Tony had strolled into the bar around eleven and had taken a seat at a table in the back. It was clear he knew exactly where the surveillance cameras were positioned. Shortly after his arrival, a squat, rotund Russian had sat across from him accompanied by a young, cocky looking kid that couldn't have been out of college. Two burly men had stood behind them and were clearly Yuri's bodyguards.

Gibbs had been able to not only see Tony clearly, but his contacts as well. Gibbs had listened closely as Tony and his targets, introduced as Yuri and Stephan respectively, started discussing weapons and ammunition like it just another topic in a long string of topics. It was as if they were discussing the weather for all the caution they took to ensure they weren't overheard.

In the middle of their negotiations, Yuri had shifted his girth and sat up straighter, obviously on alert. Gibbs had seen Yuri and his bodyguards tense up. Gibbs thought Tony had been made. He had looked over and signaled Ziva to be ready to go into action.

Tony, meanwhile, had remained nonchalant. He hadn't reacted to their tense body language. Instead, Gibbs had watched as Tony turned around and smiled that cocky smile Gibbs knew so well - and then they had lost the video feed.

"Damn! What the hell happened, McGee?!"

"I don't know...I don't know what happened..." McGee had frantically readjusted more knobs and buttons than Gibbs had ever seen trying to recover the signal.

Gibbs had seen that Ziva was at the door ready to leap into the fray. Gibbs had almost given her the go-ahead but then he heard Tony's voice cut through the van.

"You know, you really need to learn to relax. Maybe have a glass of wine, Chablis perhaps. That's what you like, isn't it?"

"You remembered," a feminine voice answered. Her voice was soft, low and full of confidence.

"Who is that?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs had glared at her to keep her quiet. Without video, all they had was the audio and Gibbs hadn't wanted to miss anything.

"Lady... I was not expecting you this evening," Yuri had answered in a thick Russian accent, attempting to sound pleasant but Gibbs had heard the tremor in his voice. He had been clearly afraid, very, very afraid. Victor had started stammering and stuttering and seemed to about wet himself in his attempt to welcome the new person, Lady, into the bar.

Gibbs had realized that NCIS and the FBI had stumbled into a turf war and that 'Lady' called the shots. Yuri seemed to have no problems with that. He had seemed especially eager to please her when he had learned that his young associate had been trying to expand their business by encroaching on hers.

To prove his loyalty, Yuri had gone as far as following through with a 'suggestion' that the young man be punished for taking down her mark in several businesses and harming some of her people, in a claim for territory that stretched from Baltimore to Norfolk.

It appeared that Yuri would have had no problem with killing 'his brother's idiot son.' Lady 'suggested' instead that the young man turn himself in for the murder of several people that had crossed state lines which would get the feds off their backs and allow the "more loyal' followers the ability to move freely again.

It hadn't been long after that that Tony had walked out of the bar, with the woman in question in his arm, his hand placed lightly on her lower back. Gibbs remembered that was the moment he had known something was even further off than he had first thought.

He hadn't had time to pursue specific thoughts about Tony and "Lady" as the case they had been assigned to had suddenly sped up. It had gone round and round, around the clock, and spanned from DC to New York to Chicago and back again. It involved guns, drugs, and espionage.

Still, the niggling questions had run like a freight train through his head; how did the case tie in with the warehouse, how did Tony know the mysterious "Lady", and, more importantly, what the hell were they doing with Tony?

That had been several days ago.

End of Flashback

Gibbs finally realized he was shivering. The water had run cold. He reached over and turned the water off but couldn't bring himself to stand up yet. He tucked his knees up to chest and sat on the cold, wet porcelain of the tub. There were so many questions and Gibbs felt like he couldn't leave the sanctity of his bathroom until had had time to review everything.

Flashback

That morning at 0700, they had been going over evidence they had gathered with Fornell and his team. The focus had shifted to locating the actual leader of this crime ring. Vance had come down the stairs and announced that the NCIS/FBI joint portion of the case was over.

On the heels of his abrupt announcement, the unnamed MIBs that Gibbs had seen when the entire mess had started, had swooped in and confiscated all of their evidence once again. Just like the warehouse case, everything that had been in the lab, Autopsy, and the Evidence Garage had been taken. They had even wiped the team's computers of all relevant searches and digital evidence.

Gibbs and Fornell had spent the rest of the morning in meetings with all of the alphabet agencies, all of them yelling over each other at being left in the dark. They had all clamored for position in a case that no longer existed and they had all left disappointed.

Suddenly without a case, it had left the MCRT team with an entire day to watch, wait, and wonder about what the hell had happened with the case and to worry about their missing Agent who still had yet to make an appearance.

Just after 1600, McGee's phone had rung. Seeing the number, McGee had put it on speaker for Gibbs and Ziva and mouthed 'Tony' to Gibbs.

"McGoo! How are you? Don't bother tracing the call." Tony had sounded chipper.

"I wasn't..."

"Sure, like Gibbs isn't hovering over you giving you the stink eye."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs had yelled. His emotions had been about to boil over and he wasn't sure if he wanted to hug the man or smack him.

"Hi Boss. Hey, I'm here in Fairfax. Thought maybe you and the gang might like to visit."

Off the team had gone, Ducky in tow, not knowing what they would find. They had entered another warehouse located in the middle of nowhere. Although surprised, Gibbs had recognized the entire team of 'experts' that had been seated around a massive table. Gibbs and team had been waived to some empty seats as several men carried boxes of food and drinks for each of them.

Gibbs hadn't even been surprised to see that it had contained their favorites. He had absently noted that Tony's arm was casually thrown over the woman's shoulders as he joked with another agent seated near him.

In that instance, the casualness of it had hit him. He knew.

All the little pieces had come together into this epiphany. The way the members of the team of experts had immediately deferred to Tony at the warehouse, the way that Tony was so focused, serious, on the case, all the little looks that had passed between the team members and Tony, and all of those other small things that had always bothered Gibbs but that he had never quite been able to put his finger on: Tony's quick, almost meteoric rise from the police academy to Vice to Homicide to Federal Agent; how, as inexperienced as he had been, Tony had been pushed out of an airplane in the dark of night and managed to land with little injury; how he had survived two serial killers, one armed with a knife, one seeking vengeance for the slow, agonizing deaths of her friends; how he had been able to beat an attacker while still tied to a chair. All of these thoughts flashed through Gibbs' mind. Malcuso, White, Sacco, Renier, Port to Port, Eli David, Somalia. All of the times Tony returned to work after vacation, or even just a weekend off, looking wore out and drained.

Tony wasn't his, he was theirs - the mysterious group of people before him.

He was their agent, their super spy, their ghost. Gibbs hadn't taught him anything. He hadn't been the person that had rounded out the sharp corners and molded Tony into his image. Tony had come to Gibbs with a specific skill set. He had already been molded into the perfect agent. He was a chameleon, adept at fluidly changing as the situation needed.

Gibbs had felt his stomach sour at the realization. He set his food down, rounded up the rest of the team, and left without comment. Tony was not who Gibbs thought he was. He had wondered if anything he knew about his Senior Agent was true.

Gibbs had made his solitary way home, his heart breaking at the thought that, now, after being brought back into that life, Tony would never stay with him at NCIS. Gibbs realized too late that he had lost his chance. Gibbs hadn't even able to define to himself what chance he had hoped he had with Tony, he had just known he'd lost all of his chances.

He had taken a deep breath and forced the bile back down his throat. He'd have to move on. He had decided he had to brace himself to face the rest of his life without Tony.

End Flashback

After he finally dragged his ass out of the shower and toweled off, Gibbs made his way through the darkened house to the basement. He grabbed a bottle of rot gut and sat on a saw horse and lost himself in his thoughts. His face was a portrait of loss and devastation. Gibbs didn't know how long he sat there in the dark until a soft noise brought him out of his trance.

Standing on the landing, with his shoulder on the post and his ankles crossed, Tony was the picture of...something that tugged at Gibbs. The light at the top of the landing illuminated Tony in a halo of light. He had another little smile that Gibbs recognized - the one Tony wore when he was very pleased about something. His eyes crinkled with amusement as he came down the final two steps shaking his head at Gibbs.

"You never knew, never even guessed."

Gibbs' "No" came out in a scratchy whisper and he looked down at the floor. He felt raw and just as he was trying to prepare himself to live without Tony, the man had come to him. His breath hitched as Tony moved to stand directly in front of him and invaded his personal space. He wedged himself between Gibbs' knees and chucked Gibbs' chin like he himself had done to Tony so many times.

"You, Gunny, are a stubborn, crotchety, clueless bastard that doesn't talk, a functional mute, who needs coffee almost more than air. But you're *MY* stubborn bastard. There's a reason I left that life. Yes, I do still pitch in when they need it, but my life is here, with you, if you want me."

Gibbs let out a relieved sigh and looked up to Tony's face. The open, fearless expression Tony watched Gibbs with made Gibbs realize he didn't want to waste any more time. He fisted his hand in Tony's shirt and pulled him down in for a long, thorough kiss.

"I. Want," he said, breathlessly, as they broke apart long enough for Gibbs to stand.

They spent the next several minutes kissing passionately before Gibbs grabbed Tony by the hand and led him up the stairs. He stopped on the landing and looked down at Tony at the step below. Tony cocked an eyebrow at him, expectantly.

"I just want to know, what was in the warehouse?" Gibbs asked, with a half-smile.

Tony let loose a peal of laughter that reverberated through the basement. "It's classified. But, you wouldn't believe me anyway although I really need to get you to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark one of these days."

Gibbs eyes widened at the hint but didn't have time to respond before Tony pushed him out of the door and up the next set of stairs to the bedroom.


End file.
